Chapter Eighty: Walking on Water

  It was late at night, and everyone was either meditating or sleeping. Lin Fan was half asleep on his bed when he suddenly thought of Xie Fengzi again. He pushed open the wooden window and saw that Xie Fengzi was still sitting with his back to him. Since there's a master, there must be a disciple; Xie Fengzi's temperament was tough and unyielding, and he didn't take Leng Huo Lao Zu's words lightly. This indirectly suggested that Leng Huo Lao Zu's descent into the Purple Bamboo Temple was definitely a trick. However, although Lin Fan knew there was a trick, he didn't know where it lay.

  Lin Fan was just thinking casually, the affairs of Zi Xiao Temple had nothing to do with him, and he didn't have the mood for it either. He only knew that Xie Fengzi was from Lie Huo Jiao, Lie Huo Jiao was known for their vengeful nature, narrow-minded. In Da Xue Mountain, he and Xi Men Shuai joined forces to heavily injure Xie Fengzi, Xie Fengzi must have remembered it clearly. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible that upon hearing his voice calling out his name, he would become flustered and make a wrong move.

  Lin Fan was just about to fall asleep when he suddenly felt a fiery red glow in the east. He pushed open the door and looked towards the east, only to see that thirty miles away, a mountain top was engulfed in flames.

  "It's flooding!" Several disciples of the Purple Bamboo Temple shouted loudly, startling everyone awake.

  Everyone went out and looked east, the fire was extremely fierce. In the mountains and forests, once a pine forest catches fire, it will be difficult to control. However, for cultivators, using a few water spells can easily extinguish the fire, how could this scene happen?

  "Go take a look."

  Lin Fan and the three of them flew towards the volcano together. Lin Fan turned his head to take a look, and saw that the slanted wind child was unmoved, ignoring the noise and commotion, while the door to his master Leng Huo's house was tightly closed.

  Many disciples have gathered near the volcano, and in the distance, you can see people's shadows flying about under the reflection of the flames. Bai Miao said: "This is not good, the fire is on Gu Lao Mountain, where the Scripture Pavilion is located."

  "Isn't there an array of forbidden laws inside the Scripture Pavilion?"

  Bai Mu nodded: "It's precisely because of the formation's restrictive spell that this fire can burn so vigorously."

  As he flew closer, Zhang Tongyuan had already arrived. Without saying a word, he drew his sword and entered the sea of flames. In the midst of the fire, the Eight Trigrams Diagram in the Hidden Book Pavilion appeared, and a white beam of light shone on Zhang Tongyuan's body. Bai Muxian nodded and said: "It's actually the Taiji Nine Palaces Chart! The Taiji Nine Palaces Chart is an ancient treasure that can set up the Taiji Nine Palaces Formation without human control. Once it's invaded, the formation will be activated, and anyone who enters the formation will be attacked. The Hidden Book Pavilion in the Purple Bamboo Temple has the most and finest books in the world, and for thousands of years, nothing has ever been stolen from it. It must also be thanks to the Taiji Nine Palaces Chart."

  Only in the white light, Zhang Tongyuan wielded his sword to attack left and right. Bai Mu said: "Zhang Tongyuan has entered the Jiugong military formation." The original Jiugong refers to nine numbers arranged in three rows, with each row having three numbers. The sum of the numbers on the diagonal, horizontal, and vertical lines are all the same. Later, it evolved, and it is said that someone evolved it into a horizontal line of 1999 and a vertical line of 1999, and the results of the additions of the straight and diagonal lines are all the same.

  The Nine Palaces Diagram is not the Eight Trigrams Diagram, and it has no dead ends or birthplaces. No matter which path one takes to enter the formation, it's all the same; to break through, one must calculate the quantities. For example, Zhang Tongxuan's military formation had ten cities surrounded, and one had to capture the correct city, otherwise it would become eleven cities, and then one would have to capture two correct cities, leaving nine cities that must conform to the Nine Palaces calculation in order to break through. Generally speaking, those who don't know the formation method will find it difficult to break through. However, this formation has no lethal power, its purpose is just to trap the enemy, so even if Zhang Tongxuan couldn't kill his way out, there would be no danger to his life.

  Inside the Purple Bamboo Pavilion, only the sect leader can close the Taiji Nine Palaces diagram. He holds the sect leader's token and cannot be blocked from entering. Zhang Tong rushed in hastily and got trapped, also reminding everyone not to act rashly. To rescue the fire, they must first close the formation; otherwise, neither the sect master's disciples nor magical swords can enter the Taiji Nine Palaces diagram. This mountain protection formation is not something that a single expert can withstand.

  The sect leader lived in a small cloud peak, quite far from the Lonely Old Mountain, and couldn't see the firelight directly. It was only after being informed by his disciples that he set out. Zhang Tongyuan was trapped for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before Sect Leader Ziyun arrived at the foot of the Fire Mountain. He looked around, leaned in close to the ear of the Purple Sun Sect's leader and whispered a few sentences, then entered the Taiji Nine Palaces Diagram. His hand held up a golden plaque, but the formation didn't activate.

  The head of the Ziyang Sect, a trusted follower, came over and bowed: "Four fellow Taoists, please return to Welcome Guest Mountain first. This kind of trivial matter can be handled by us, we dare not trouble you to take action."

  Gu Yan said: "One more person, one more share of strength. This Taiji Nine Palaces Formation is a crucial pass. The flames will inevitably spread to the Library Pavilion..."

  "Since that's the case, we'll take our leave first."

  Gu Yan hesitated, Lin Fan made a gesture with his eyes, Gu Yan remembered Qian Yu's reminder, nodded, and left the vicinity of the volcano with four people. Except for them, all the onlookers from Zixiao Temple were invited back to Yingke Mountain by the disciples of Ziyang Sect.

  Lin Fan said, "This Zi Yun True Person is not afraid that we will help him out, but rather he's afraid that while the Taiji Nine Palaces Formation is closed, our hands are not clean."

  Ye Wushuang was dissatisfied: "A dog bites Lü Dongbin."

  Bai Mu spoke up to defend Zi Yun: "The foundation of the Purple Bamboo Pavilion is actually the Book Collection Hall, and the Book Collection Hall is controlled by only one person, the leader. Not to mention outsiders, even among the disciples of the pavilion, there are many who covet the books in the hall. Look at this hall, a nine-story pagoda, each floor has a Taiji Nine Palaces diagram restriction, without permission, you can't enter other floors. It's also because they're afraid that the disciples will be too greedy."

  Lin Fan added, "This move is also a good way to maintain the position of Ziyun True Person as the sect leader." Only the sect leader can close the formation and grant disciples the right to enter and exit, which is equivalent to controlling all disciples.

  Bai Mu didn't refute: "The defeat of the Purple Bamboo Pavilion lies in the fact that the previous head and the Eight Sects reached a compromise, adopting the system of 'listen to the edict but not to the declaration' of the vassals. If the Purple Sun Sect cannot control the Cangshu Hall, how can it control the Eight Sects? It's also a helpless move. The Purple Cloud True Person is quite ambitious, wanting to reclaim the power of the Eight Sects and unify them under one body. Unfortunately, he couldn't bear to give up his power, so why would the Eight Sects easily believe him?"

  Ye Wushuang said, "Then the Lihuo Sect delivered it to their doorstep, willing to directly become a sect under the Zixiao Temple, and naturally, Zi Yun True Person was delighted, gaining an extra helping hand in controlling the eight sects."

  It's not about who's right or wrong, the eight sects are unwilling to listen to the announcement, and they will inevitably have a defensive mindset. This is a historical legacy left over from internal strife, nowadays the other eight sects have little contact with Zixiao Temple, like an independent school. However, since the leader controls the Cangshu Pavilion, they also dare not establish another school, otherwise, they would lose their qualifications to enter the Cangshu Hall.

  Zi Yun Zhen Ren closed the Taiji Nine Palaces diagram and immediately summoned a water dragon to guard the Cangshu Hall, preventing the mountain fire from invading. The trusted disciples of Zi Yang Sect entered and began to cast spells to put out the mountain fire with water. When Lin Fan and his four companions returned to Yingke Mountain, the mountain fire had already been extinguished by more than half. Lin Fan was puzzled: "This fire seems to be man-made."

  It's not even a real mountain, just a wild rabbit that suddenly caught fire. Moreover, it directly triggered the Taiji Nine Palaces Formation, causing the guardian disciples to be trapped inside and unable to rescue them.